The techniques and technology behind this year's Oscar-nominated films are a marvel. There's a creature who inspires pity, love, and more erotic thoughts anyone thought they'd have about mermen in The Shape of Water; a smog-choked Los Angeles broken up by neon and flying ships in Blade Runner 2049; and the conjuring of the supreme Snoke in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

The people responsible for these visual feats will not all be honored onstage at the Academy Awards on Sunday. The winners of the Scientific and Technical Awards gathered instead two weeks before the Oscar telecast at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel for an event hosted by Patrick Stewart. The awards cover many years of work instead of just the past 12 months because this type of work can affect a decade or more of films.

Very few winners receive a gold statuette. The Academy Award of Merit and the Gordon E. Sawyer Award are the only two awards that come with a traditional 'Oscar' figure. The Scientific and Engineering Award winners get a plaque, and the Technical Achievement Award recipients get a certificate.

This year, Jonathan Erland took home the Gordon E. Sawyer Award for his technological contributions to the industry. He worked on visual effects for the original Star Wars and its send-up, Spaceballs.

While you won't see them on Sunday, the men and women behind these achievements are stars to us; check them out below.

1
BlockParty Procedural Rigging System

Technical Achievement AwardIts name sounds fun, but the BlockParty Procedural Rigging System is serious business, as it constructs the very foundation of an animated being and streamlines the rigging process. The Academy awarded Jason Smith, Jeff White, Rachel Rose, and Mike Jutan of Industrial Light & Magic a Technical Achievement Award for the tech, which was used in Kong: Skull Island, a film that earned a Visual Effects nomination.

2
Rhythm & Hues Construction Kit Rigging System

The Rhythm & Hues Construction Kit Rigging System constructs skeletons for animated creations. It was used on Life of Pi, The Incredible Hulk, and Night at the Museum. The award for the system went to Joe Mancewicz, Matt Derksen, and Hans Rijpkema for their novel approach to character rigging.

3
Premo Character Animation System

Technical Achievement AwardThe Premo Character Animation System bundles an animation tool with other processes into an efficient workflow that was developed for How to Train Your Dragon 2 and has been used in the Oscar-nominated Boss Baby. The award went to Alex Powell, Jason Reisig, Martin Watt, and Alex Wells of DreamWorks.

4
Presto Animation System

Technical Achievement AwardThe Presto Animation System is modeling software that allows many character animators to work interactively on a scene. The Academy honored Rob Jensen, Thomas Hahn, George ElKoura, Adam Woodbury, and Dirk Van Gelder, and noted that Presto has significantly increased productivity at Pixar and been used on movies like Inside Out.

5
Shotover K1 Camera System

Scientific and Engineering AwardGetting vertigo-inducing overhead shots isn't easy, but the Shotover K1 Camera System makes it look good. The camera mount offers great stability and flexibility for aerial shots. The system was used in the Oscar-nominated films Blade Runner 2049, Dunkirk, and Kong: Skull Island. The award went to John Coyle, Brad Hurndell, Vikas Sathaye, and Shane Buckham.

6
Houdini Visual Effects and Animation System

Scientific and Engineering Award and Academy Award of MeritThe Houdini Visual Effects and Animation System is used to render the natural world in all its forms, including its most destructive. It was used extensively on last year's Oscar-nominated Moana. Jeff Lait, Mark Tucker, Cristin Barghiel, and John Lynch were honored with a Scientific and Engineering Award for their work on Houdini and Mark Elendt and Side Effects Software received an Academy Award of Merit.

7
Nuke Compositing System

Scientific and Engineering AwardThe Nuke Compositing System is used for compositing and processing images. It is used across the industry and played a part in creating Blade Runner 2049, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and The Jungle Book. The Academy honored Abigail Brady, Jon Wadelton, and Jerry Huxtable for their work on it.

8
Hydrascope Telescopic Camera Crane Systems

Scientific and Engineering AwardHydrascope Telescopic Camera Crane Systems are used for those impossible-to-get shots. The waterproof cranes are easily set up and range in size from 15 feet to 73 feet. Leonard Chapman, Stanislav Gorbatov, David Gasparian, and Souhail Issa were all honored for the systems.

9
Watch Oscar Nominees Online

About the Author

Chandra is senior features writer at PCMag.com. She got her tech journalism start at CMP/United Business Media, beginning at Electronic Buyers' News, then making her way over to TechWeb and VARBusiness.com. Chandra's happy to make a living writing, something she didn't think she could do and why she chose to major in political science at Barnard Co... See Full Bio

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